The Falcons won the game 50 – 13 and will face cross town rival Broad Run in round 2 of the VSHL 5A state football playoffs.

The frustrations of the past two weeks were all but forgotten after a first quarter in which the 8-3 Briar Woods Falcons raced to a 14-0 lead over visiting Mountain View Wildcats (4-7) in the first round of the VHSL Division 5A football playoffs. The Falcons went on to put 36 more points on the scoreboard en route to a 50-13 victory, earning them a second round meeting with the Broad Run Spartans.

The Falcon assault began on their second possession when QB Ben Maffe hit TE Mark Birmingham on a 34-yard pass. Three plays later RB Dillon Blevins scored the first of his four rushing touchdowns with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Takiyul Johnson made the score 8-0 when he ran the ball in for the two-point conversion. Two minutes later the Falcons got the ball back on the Mountain View 41-yard line. Blevins gained 25 yards on three carries followed by a 29-yard rush by Ben Maffe. Blevins handled the next two carries, a five yard gainer and a 21 yard touchdown. Jackson Funke’s extra point kick gave the Falcons a 15-0 lead.

In a bid to get his team back into the game, Mountain View QB Elijah Burress broke through the Falcon defense on a 45-yard keeper, putting the ball 20 yards from the end zone. That drive however would stall on the one yard line. Three Falcon plays did not get the requisite 10 yards and P Bert Dunham, skillfully eluding a furious rush, was able to get a punt off to the 29-yard line. A play later Burress then found WR Tre Coghill for a 26-yard touchdown pass. While the extra point attempt failed, the Wildcats had clawed their way back into contention, trailing 15-6.

Falcon WR Josh Thomas had the answer for the Mountain View touchdown as he took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards around and through the Wildcat defense for a touchdown. The Wildcats however, were not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Burress led his team to a 12- play, 64 yard touchdown drive capped by a 21-yard quarterback sneak that only ended in the end zone. With 4:07 remaining in the half the score was 22-13.

Four minutes however, proved to be enough time for Briar Woods to score two touchdowns.The first score came on 62 yard drive, powered by a 40-yard run by RB Anthony Martinez. Blevins, who finished the game with 115 yards on 22 carries scored on a one-yard dive. The Falcon defense forced a three-and-out and the punt gave them the ball on their 23-yard line with 1:45 left in the half. QB Jake Maffe, tasked with running the two-minute drill, accomplished his mission. He completed eight of 11 passes on a touchdown drive that gave the home team a 36-13 halftime advantage. He found Thomas for a 35-yard completion before hitting FB Anthony Carino for eight yards and the three-yard score.

Two quarterbacks, four rushers and six receivers made major contributions to the offense. Jake Maffe was successful on 12 of his 18 passing attempts for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Maffe was a perfect four-for-four throwing for 65 yards in addition to gaining 79 yards on 12 carries from the quarterback position. Martinez chipped in with 56 yards rushing on four carries.

Birmingham led all receivers with six receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Thomas and Tristan Carter each had three receptions for 38 and 28 yards respectively. The Falcon defense was the major story in the second half, limiting the Wildcats to just 53 yards of total offense in the final two quarters. OLB Dominic Brown led the team with eight tackles for the game. ILB Jack Knight contributed seven while DB’s Connor Botcher and Anthony Page got six tackles each.

The Falcons opened the second half with a 13-play, 57 yard touchdown drive that took almost six minutes off the clock. Blevins scored his fourth and final touchdown on a nine-yard run. The final score came on a 23-yard touchdown pass, Jake Maffe to Birmingham.

In the pregame locker room Head Coach Charlie Pierce made reference to the team’s two-game losing streak when he said, “This is a new season. Every team playing tonight has thesame record, 0-0.“ What would it take to win this game? “Play football the Falcon way – that’s all you have to do. Play football. Play football!”

The Briar Woods football program now has a 20-3 playoff record, the best winning percentage in Virginia high school football. To improve to 21-3 they have to beat Broad Run for a second time in 2014 on the Spartans’ home field next Friday evening.